Softball | April 21, 2015

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – La Salle welcomes Saint Joseph's to West Campus Field on Wednesday for a midweek conference doubleheader with first pitch slated for 3 p.m.
 
La Salle Explorers (11-14; 7-5 A-10) vs Saint Joseph's Hawks (21-15; 6-8 A-10)
Wednesday, April 22, 2015 | 3 PM| 5 PM|  West Campus Field
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Scouting the Explorers 
The midweek battle against Philadelphia rivals, pits two teams who are fighting to earn a spot in the Atlantic 10 Softball Tournament in early May. La Salle enters in fifth place in the Atlantic 10 while St. Joes is currently on the outside looking in seventh place at 6-8.  
 
Sophomore Christina Bascara has led the Explorers offensive effort. She has the third highest average in the conference and the 78^th best nationally at .424 on the year. She also is fourth in the A-10 and 87^th nationally in on base percentage (.507), and second in the conference and 86^th in the nation with a .746 slugging percentage. Bascara also leads the Explorers with 19 RBI and 25 hits on the year and ranks second with 15 runs scored.
 
Senior Linnette Siedler and sophomore Michelle Hagarty have each helped set the tone from atop the lineup. Hagarty leads the team with 16 runs scored on the year from the leadoff slot. Siedler is second on the team with a .349 batting average and third having scored 13 runs on the year. She also leads the team having stolen three bases on the season.
 
Junior Mary Cate Scott and freshman McKenzie Peace have done the majority of the work in the circle for the Explorers. Peace owns a 5-5 record with a 3.60 ERA in 60.1 innings while striking out 36 batters. Scott has the lowest ERA on the team at 2.48 and owns a 4-3 record in 59.1 innings pitched striking out 42 while allowing only 26 walks.
 
Scouting the Hawks
St. Joseph's enters the matchup on a eight game conference losing streak dropping three game sets to Fordham and Dayton and two of three to George Mason. The Hawks do own some of the hottest bats in the league. They lead the Atlantic 10 with a team batting average of .312. The also lead the league in scoring at 6.06 runs per game which is good for 40^th nationally and a .497 slugging percentage.

Junior Sarah Yoos is near the tops of the league in several offensive categories. She leads the league and is fifth in the nation with a .608 on base percentage. Yoos also is second in the Atlantic 10 averaging .97 runs per game and leads the league drawing .86 walks per contest. Senior Ashley Alden is tops on the team and one of eight regular starters for the Hawks who have over a .300 batting average. Alden has a .390 average on the season to go along with ten homers. She also leads the team with 36 RBI and a slugging percentage of .854.

On the rubber, freshman Madison Clarke has done the majority of the work for the Hawks. Clarke owns a 16-5 record in 120.1 innings with a 3.43 ERA. She has struck out 57 batters while issuing 44 walks on the year and allowing opponents to hit .317 off of her in the process.  

Up Next
La Salle hits the road for their final conference road series of the year traveling to Fairfax, Virginia to take on George Mason.